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Posted by Steve on 2/16/2009, 5:25 pm, in reply to "Re: In Sync / Out-of-Sync"
69.138.195.x
: Hi Steve,
:
: re: "Not prospering' is also the way of
: nature, imo."
:
: -- Yes, you've made that clear. It makes
: sense to me. It makes sense to many Chinese,
: but only from one perspective. Another
: perspective they have had for millenia is
: the opposite, that prospering is something
: which feels like we are in harmony with
: Nature, with that which we might call the
: Way. If we are not prospering, we feel at
: odds with the world, we feel that we are
: going about things wrong, that we are going
: against the grain of things, of the Way.
: Making adjustments, based upon the
: "situation on the ground," its
: possible to turn things around, so we are
: prospering/succeeding. This might feel like
: we are better matching the patterns of the
: Way. This, however, doesn't mean that
: failure isn't an essential aspect of life.
: Perhaps the goal of life, the journey, is
: about continuous adaptation. Adaptation
: aimed at (consciously or subconsciously)
: prosperity. (Prosperity in a wide sense.)
:
: Regarding "not dao" or "not
: in accord with the dao" (Bu Dao
: 不道)), Laozi 30 & 55 say:
:
: When things reach their primes, they get
: old;
: We called this “not the Dao.”
: What is not the Dao will come to an early
: end.
:
: In Laozi 38 we have:
:
: When the Dao is lost, only then do we have
: virtue.
:
: Laozi 46 says:
:
: When the world lacks the Dao (Wu Dao
: 無道), war horses are reared in the
: suburbs.
:
: And Zhuangzi said in ch. 4:
:
: When the world has the Dao, the sage
: succeeds; when the world is without the Dao
: (Wu Dao 無道), the sage [merely] survives.
:
: And finally in Zhuangzi 12:
:
: Going contrary to the Dao (Fei Dao 非道)
: the body can have no life, and without De,
: life can have no clarity. To preserve the
: body and live out life, to establish De and
: make clear the Dao - is this not regal De?
:
: These examples might give you an idea of
: what the ancient Chinese meant when they
: talked of being in accord with the Dao.
:
:
: Good health, harmony and happiness,
: Bao Pu
----------------------------
Nice post, Bao Pu. Thanks.
I certainly agree there's nothing wrong with wanting to prosper in the world. I want that too. I want to be healthy and be able to afford the things I like, and to go where I want to go. I want to have successful relationships. I want to tread lightly so that I don't impede the happiness of others.
In the same moment however, I sense it's okay when things turn to mush and I don't do well. I'd rather not screw up, but I don't think there's anything inherently out-of-sync with screwing up. My contentment is not contingent on my succeeding, because I know that my successes--all of them--are fleeting. For the moment only.
In the literature, 'not Dao' or 'lacking Dao' might be understood figuratively, not literally.
Zhuangzi, for one, could not find himself anywhere where Dao was not.
Steve
458
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"The Tao is basically utterly open. Utter openeness has no substance. It ends in endlessness, begins in beginninglessnes".
-Li Daoqun
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